NEW ORLEANS - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton defended the use of superdelegates to help determine who is the party's nominee, it was reported Sunday.

With rival Barack Obama ahead in the state-by-state race for delegates but Clinton ahead in committed superdelegates, some black activists worry the party's superdelegates could flout the will of most Democratic voters, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported.

Speaking at an annual convention of black leaders, Clinton said the heated race for the party's nomination and the close race for delegates has put added pressure on black superdelegates, who includes party leaders and elected officials, newspaper reported.

"I am aware people supporting me have been under immense pressure. And that pains me," Clinton told those attending the State of the Black Union convention in New Orleans Saturday.

Even though Clinton was the only Democratic candidate in attendance it didn't stop those at the annual State of the Black Union address from discussing Obama, who, if elected, would be the nation's first black president.

In a speech earlier in the day, Clinton's national campaign co-chairwoman, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, called on the audience not to "question the blackness" of black leaders who publicly support Clinton rather than Obama.